Fired miner's 50% pay cut just start of Australian wage pain

Sydney

FOR 20 years Australians doubled down on debt, confident that rising wages would inflate away the burden and grow their wealth. Now their luck seems to be running out.

Geologist Marzena Grochot has been forced to go back to her former career as a dental technician after losing her mining job that paid twice as much. Her plan to sell the family's two-storey, four-bedroom house in Perth is also foundering in a weak market as the impact of collapsing mining investment spills out across the economy.

"It's affecting everyone - people stop going out and …